comparison between wilson and roosevelt, Government_&


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comparison between wilson and roosevelt

comparison between wilson and roosevelt During the 20th century many different presidents went in and out of the doors of the White House serving the country the best they could. However, two of these men hold a place in American history as perhaps the greatest leaders that had ever served our country. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson are two extraordinary men that symbolize the hope and aspirations of the American people during such a tumultuous time in United States history. Both of these men held leadership qualities like no other, had strong views for America, and held exceptional ideas on foreign policy. Theodore Roosevelt stepped into head of office on September 19, 1901 when President William McKinley was assassinated. He was the youngest man to become president. His motto was “speak softly but carry a big stick.” President Roosevelt would come into power offering America the square deal. He would take the power away from the industrialists as he controlled big business from the White House. He would soon become known as a TrustBuster. Roosevelt used American power for American interests and was quoted as saying, “I am an American first and last. “ Although some historians argue that Roosevelt acted like a six-year-old throughout his presidency and that he didn’t think things through, ie “he thought with his hips”, one can admire the tremendous leadership qualities that Teddy Roosevelt had. First, he was a very bold man who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. The average citizen was aware of what a “positive, warm and tough, authoritative and funny” president that they had leading them. His leadership qualities stemmed from his time as a New York state Assembly man, a deputy sheriff, a president of the Little Missouri Stockman’s Association, United States Civil Service Commissioner, Police Commissioner of New York City, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York, and Vice President of the United States, which finally led him to be the President. His authoritative figure saved Americans from freezing when 250,000 of Carnegie’s coal miners went on strike. TR had threatened that he would send the government in to take it over. “To hell with the constitution, America needs heat.” Also, TR was an imperialist and a realist. He is most characterized by his aggression. This to him meant growth. He was a man of conquest and won power through constant attack. Secondly, President Roosevelt was known for his personal righteousness. Everything he did was what he perceived as justice. He was a “strong, clean-living, and industrious” man. Third, Teddy Roosevelt had a strong sense of pride. He was the first American president who was not British and was very proud of his diversity. Lastly, Roosevelt was known for being militaristic. He regrets he never had a big war. He thought that war was proof of manhood. He built the US navy to 2nd largest in the world when it had previously been the 5th largest. TR loved his job and the American people loved him for being so good at it. During his term he would reform domestically and reform capitalists. He also opened up the famous Yellowstone National Park. Although TR would have easily been elected for a third term, he knew that too much power could corrupt a man and that it wouldn’t be good for the country. In turn, he handpicked his successor, William Howard Taft. Taft turned out to be a disappointment. He was very cautious and slow in his decision making and did very little to advance Roosevelt’s active reforms. Consequently, in the election of 1912 Roosevelt returned but was denied the Republican nomination. He therefore formed a third party, Bull Moose, but nevertheless lost to Woodrow Wilson, who TR would soon grow to hate. Woodrow Wilson stepped into the presidency as an idealist from Virginia. He continued with some of TR’s reforms such as income tax to help out the people, and the federal reserve. Women’s right to vote and prohibition of drinking and selling alcohol took pace during his term. Wilson was son of a minister. People speculate that he believed his father was God. He had a dangerous messiah complex where he thought he could save the world and was blinded by the idea of world peace. Wilson developed at a young age a burning hatred for war. However as a war leader he was superb. He got the American people to believe they would fight a war to make the world safe for democracy. Out of Wilson’s idealism came his fourteen points, which he presented to Congress in January of 1918. This appealed to people everywhere by promising such goals as ending secret treaties, freedom of the seas, and removing economic barriers. His fourteenth point was the League of Nations, which was rejected by the Senate. He did however get the Treaty of Versailles accomplished during his term in June of 1919, but this only included about four of the original fourteen points. Wilson was a man of peace who many argued tried to keep us out of war. When war broke out in Europe he said, “Force does not solve anything.” He wanted to remain neutral. However this proved to be impossible. First, when the Luisitania, a passenger ship carrying 128 Americans to England was blown up by the Germans, Americans were outraged. But Wilson still said no war. Then German submarines started blowing up transport ships with U-Boats. Next, a German ambassador was on his way to Mexico when he was caught with the Zimmerman note saying that Mexico should attack the US. Finally, on April 2, 1917 Wilson addressed Congress asking them to declare war on Germany. Wilson preached to America that “God needs you to fight this war for democracy and America.” 24 million Americans were sent off to war. Nothing was accomplished as the war ended on November 11, 1918. 90 million people died. America turned into a depressed nation. In 1919 Theodore Roosevelt became ill. His four sons had previously died in “Wilson’s War”. On his deathbed his dying words were “You have to get Wilson.” Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were two very different leaders. They both felt that the other had no business in running the country. They had extremely different ideas of foreign policy as well. Roosevelt’s interests were for America while Wilson took into account international relations. Roosevelt wanted a Panama Canal so American ships could be more mobile. The Columbians were demanding 25 million dollars from the US, since they owned Panama at the time. Roosevelt sent aide to Panama who wasn’t happy with the Columbians and said that if they want to have a revolution on November 3rd, 1902, “It was okay with him.” Roosevelt arranged for the US navy to be in the Pacific Ocean with 7 battle ships on November 2nd. Panama has the revolution. On November 4th the new country of Panama is born. On November 5th, the grateful Panamanians gave permission for America to build the Panama Canal and in turn President Roosevelt designed their flag none other than red, white, and blue. The first thing President Wilson did when he stepped into office was call Colombia and apologize for TR being childish and gave them $25 million. Also during Roosevelt’s time, he created the Spanish American War during his expansion. We took over the Philippines so we would have a seaport outside of China, when Spain had owned the Philippines. This was part of TR’s aggression. He wanted to expand. Part of Wilson’s perplexing foreign policy included transforming Nicaragua into a US protectorate, sending forces into Mexico twice, and ordering full-scale military occupation of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. However Wilson convinced himself that it was all done in high moral purpose and this justified such intervention. Teddy Roosevelt came from a family in politics and high education while Woodrow Wilson came from a religious family and failed out of law school. TR was a realist who loved war, was Pro American, and loud, while Wilson was and idealist, a pacifist, an internationalist, and quiet. They were complete opposites. Also, TR was diverse and loved other ethnicities. He was the first president to invite a black man to the White House. He knew that it was only in America with its economic opportunities and political freedom where minorities could improve their life. They could revitalize their racial characteristics. He also knew the value of the ethnic vote. Wilson on the other hand was a racist who brought his Virginia attitude with him to the White House. Perhaps the most ironic thing about these two men is the fact that Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1904 for helping resolve the Russian-Japanese fighting, and TR never was in office during the Great Wars while Wilson was. However, we did end up getting the United Nations from Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. In conclusion, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were very different people who held different beliefs on America, but nonetheless, these two men gave their all in making America a better place. Without these two leaders, America could have been a very different place today. Who knows, I might have been writing this paper in German had it not been for them. Bibliography:

Word Count: 1636

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